#14 Elfland by Freda Warrington
Every seven years, the Aetherials say goodbye to their human lives, and cross over into the Other World for a night. That is until the
Gatekeeper, Lawrence Wilder, refuses to open the doors again. He claims that this must be done for safety's sake but refuses to fully explain why, leaving many feeling frustrated and angry. Years past, and Lawrence leaves the gates closed shut. This decision impacts everyone, including young Rosie Fox, who struggles to find a balance between a human and Aetherial existence.
Elfland is the February selection for the Women of Fantasy Book club hosted by jawasreadtoo. It's a unique fantasy read that will thrill some readers, completely dissatisfy others, and leave the rest in between. Although Elfland is a fantasy title, the first two-thirds of the book push the magical elements to the background, and focus on the every day lives, romantic and family struggles of the main cast.. The last section of the book dives more deeply into the fantasy aspects.
My experience with Elfland was mostly positive. Because the story takes place over a lengthy period of time (well over ten years), we get to witness a lot of long-term character development, which I really liked. As someone that tends to shy away from books with a heavy romantic emphasis, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the main love story. I think what made this romance work well for me is that I've become frustrated with “love at first sight” type stories. It was nice to see Rosie slowly develop feelings for the romantic interest as she got to know him for the person he was, instead of basing the relationship so much on initial physical attraction. I also enjoyed the concepts of faeries cut off from their mystical homeland. It resulted in a lot of interesting questions from the characters. Do they continue to be Aetherial if they cannot visit the Other World? It is worth it to completely embrace a “normal human” life? What are the consequences of acting human?
I did have some issues with the novel that are worth mentioning. Although I enjoyed Warrington's writing style, her misuse of commas distracted me. As someone that's far from a grammar freak, that's probably not a good sign. For the most part, I was satisfied with the pacing of Elfland, although I noticed it dragged a bit in the beginning and end. The only real issue I had with the story itself was the ending. I don't want to give too much away (and you can stop reading here if you are sensitive to vague spoilers), but the “big moment” that triggered all the chaos in the end felt forced, as if it happened not because it was the decision that character would have made, but because it had to happen to progress the story towards it's end. I was also disappointed at how a novel that had so far been so good at acknowledging that all actions had permanent consequences, chose to resolve a few storylines.
Despite my issues with the ending, I enjoyed the vast majority of Elfland, and am glad that I picked it up. I suspect the sequel, Midsummer Night, will be worth checking out too.
Rating: four stars
Length: 463 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Other books I've read by this author: This is my frist
Similar Books: Bring on the Tam Lin retellings! This novel strongly reminded me of Pamela Dean's Tam Lin (which goes to even further extremes to push the supernatural elements into the background for most of the books), as well as Diana Wynne Jones's Fire and Hemlock.
Sorry for vanishing for a little while! More review will come soon.
xposted totemporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads
Gatekeeper, Lawrence Wilder, refuses to open the doors again. He claims that this must be done for safety's sake but refuses to fully explain why, leaving many feeling frustrated and angry. Years past, and Lawrence leaves the gates closed shut. This decision impacts everyone, including young Rosie Fox, who struggles to find a balance between a human and Aetherial existence.
Elfland is the February selection for the Women of Fantasy Book club hosted by jawasreadtoo. It's a unique fantasy read that will thrill some readers, completely dissatisfy others, and leave the rest in between. Although Elfland is a fantasy title, the first two-thirds of the book push the magical elements to the background, and focus on the every day lives, romantic and family struggles of the main cast.. The last section of the book dives more deeply into the fantasy aspects.
My experience with Elfland was mostly positive. Because the story takes place over a lengthy period of time (well over ten years), we get to witness a lot of long-term character development, which I really liked. As someone that tends to shy away from books with a heavy romantic emphasis, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the main love story. I think what made this romance work well for me is that I've become frustrated with “love at first sight” type stories. It was nice to see Rosie slowly develop feelings for the romantic interest as she got to know him for the person he was, instead of basing the relationship so much on initial physical attraction. I also enjoyed the concepts of faeries cut off from their mystical homeland. It resulted in a lot of interesting questions from the characters. Do they continue to be Aetherial if they cannot visit the Other World? It is worth it to completely embrace a “normal human” life? What are the consequences of acting human?
I did have some issues with the novel that are worth mentioning. Although I enjoyed Warrington's writing style, her misuse of commas distracted me. As someone that's far from a grammar freak, that's probably not a good sign. For the most part, I was satisfied with the pacing of Elfland, although I noticed it dragged a bit in the beginning and end. The only real issue I had with the story itself was the ending. I don't want to give too much away (and you can stop reading here if you are sensitive to vague spoilers), but the “big moment” that triggered all the chaos in the end felt forced, as if it happened not because it was the decision that character would have made, but because it had to happen to progress the story towards it's end. I was also disappointed at how a novel that had so far been so good at acknowledging that all actions had permanent consequences, chose to resolve a few storylines.
Despite my issues with the ending, I enjoyed the vast majority of Elfland, and am glad that I picked it up. I suspect the sequel, Midsummer Night, will be worth checking out too.
Rating: four stars
Length: 463 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Other books I've read by this author: This is my frist
Similar Books: Bring on the Tam Lin retellings! This novel strongly reminded me of Pamela Dean's Tam Lin (which goes to even further extremes to push the supernatural elements into the background for most of the books), as well as Diana Wynne Jones's Fire and Hemlock.
Sorry for vanishing for a little while! More review will come soon.
xposted totemporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads